If you do not have a web host, you can always allow the registrar to park your domain name at a temporary website specially set up for you. This way you can quickly secure your domain name before it's too late and still take your time to set up the other aspects of your site. As far as I can tell, most registrars (or probably all) automatically park your domain by default whether you ask them to or not, so if this is your situation, you probably don't have to do anything special to get it done. Some of those registrars also provide you with a free email address at your own domain name while it is parked at their site, like sales@example.com (where "example.com" is your domain).

One of the most important decisions in establishing an online presence is choosing a domain name. The right domain name for your website is important, for both your target audience and search engines. Ignore the trends and fads of the day and choose a name that makes sense for your business or subject matter now and will still make sense 10 years from now. Here are 10 tips to help you make a good domain name purchase.
Domain name registrars, in case you didn't know, are the companies that manage all the website domain names you'll see (EG: Inc.com) - the fingerprint of your business, which may also include the hosting and privacy measures. For example, by default many companies will actually over-price the simple process of keeping your registration information private (which if it isn't can be found via a simple Whois search).

As I noted above, ccTLD fans had a lot to be happy about over the past couple of weeks with a terrific run of sales led by that $255,200 Casino.ro jackpot at Sedo. You saw the six biggest sales in this category on the all extension chart at the top of this report, so the highest sale from this group that you haven 't seen yet is the #7 name on our latest weekly Country Code Top 20 Sales Chart. That is Sedo's $7,854 sale of Major.co.

As I noted above, ccTLD fans had a lot to be happy about over the past couple of weeks with a terrific run of sales led by that $255,200 Casino.ro jackpot at Sedo. You saw the six biggest sales in this category on the all extension chart at the top of this report, so the highest sale from this group that you haven 't seen yet is the #7 name on our latest weekly Country Code Top 20 Sales Chart. That is Sedo's $7,854 sale of Major.co.
ICANN publishes the complete list of TLD registries and domain name registrars. Registrant information associated with domain names is maintained in an online database accessible with the WHOIS protocol. For most of the 250 country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), the domain registries maintain the WHOIS (Registrant, name servers, expiration dates, etc.) information.
Not every registrar sells every top-level domain, so if you want an uncommon TLD like .pizza, you might have to try a few registrars. Unusual TLDs often cost more than a standard .com address, but provide built-in memorability and give you more name options, since far fewer .pizza addresses are already taken. You can check name availability at any registrar that offers the TLD you want.For more than a decade, Jeffrey L. Wilson has penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including 1UP, 2D-X, The Cask, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. He now brings his knowledge and skillset to PCMag as Senior Analyst. When he isn't staring at a monitor (or two) and churning out web... See Full Bio
There are organizations that are called registries that manage each TLD option. When you register domain names, you would first visit a domain registrar who would in turn check with the registry that manages that TLD to see if the domain is available. If the domain for the TLD you want discovers that it is in fact available, the registry adds it to their registry and gives you access to it. If the domain has already been registered by another user for that TLD, you will be shown during the domain registration process that the domain isn't available.
The top ten was rounded out by #8 Ecig.co.uk ($6,613 at DomainLore.co.uk) and two more Sedo sales - #9 Wallace .co at $5,999 and #10 Poianabrasov.ro at $5,632. Sedo went on to sweep 16 of 20 chart entries overall. UnicDomains filled three spots with sales they made on the Above.com Marketplace with their marquee sale of #4 AR.ca ($25,000) joined by #12 (tie) Playground.ca ($5,000) and #20 BlackMarket.ca at $3,500.
Domains are nonmaterial goods. When sold, the only transaction taking place is transfer of domain rights from one user to another. Barring any form of copyright or trademark violation, virtually any domain name can be bought or sold. Generic domain names, such as car.com or computer.com, are not legally protected and can therefore theoretically be reserved by anyone.
An important function of domain names is to provide easily recognizable and memorizable names to numerically addressed Internet resources. This abstraction allows any resource to be moved to a different physical location in the address topology of the network, globally or locally in an intranet. Such a move usually requires changing the IP address of a resource and the corresponding translation of this IP address to and from its domain name.

The root is the upper-most part of the DNS hierarchy, and involves delegating administrative responsibility of “top-level domains”, which are the last segment of a domain name, such as .com, .uk and .nz. Part of our tasks includes evaluating requests to change the operators of country code domains, as well as day-to-day maintenance of the details of the existing operators.

Domain investors build a portfolio of valuable domain names, and attempt to sell them at a profit. Both Sedo and Afternic offer domain marketplaces (also known as Domain Listing Services, or DLS) for investors to advertise their domains to potential buyers. Once the seller and buyer agree, the aftermarket platforms then facilitate the purchase and transfer of the domain(s). As an Enom customer, you’re entitled to list your domains for sale on Sedo, Afternic, or both at the same time. Get started
The longer your domain name is, the harder it is for people to remember it and the more chance you have of someone misspelling one of the words. Most good single word domain names are long gone, but you can still avoid long domain names by getting a little creative. If you have a single word you really like that is not available, try adding an adjective or verb in front of it and seeing if those variations are available. Think of your domain name as part of your brand, and make sure it matches how you want people to think of you.
Name servers. Most registrars provide two or more name servers as part of the registration service. However, a registrant may specify its own authoritative name servers to host a domain's resource records. The registrar's policies govern the number of servers and the type of server information required. Some providers require a hostname and the corresponding IP address or just the hostname, which must be resolvable either in the new domain, or exist elsewhere. Based on traditional requirements (RFC 1034), typically a minimum of two servers is required.
ICANN publishes the complete list of TLD registries and domain name registrars. Registrant information associated with domain names is maintained in an online database accessible with the WHOIS protocol. For most of the 250 country code top-level domains (ccTLDs), the domain registries maintain the WHOIS (Registrant, name servers, expiration dates, etc.) information.
Domain Privacy prevents these spammers from collecting your personal info. DreamHost’s complementary (yes it’s free for the life of your domain) Domain Privacy service works by masksing your personal information in the WHOIS database with DreamHost’s corporate information, so you’re protected from unscrupulous marketers, spammers, robo-callers, junk mailers, and stalkers.
It's good to decide early on if you want to have a brand domain or a keyword domain. The benefit of a brand domain is that your domain will most likely be considered as trustworthy, and immediately shows visitors that it's linked to your business or personal blog. A keyword domain, on the other hand, has the advantage that it will be better optimized for search engines, and therefore will get higher search results. In recent years, however, the drastic improvement in search results thanks to a keyword domain has begun to decrease.

Absolutely. Owning 'yourname.com' (as well as related domains such as yourname.tech or yourname.me) is a great way to brand yourself and retain control over your name's online presence. With a personal domain name, you can set up a portfolio, blog, or hobby site that’s associated with your own personal life. You can also set up a custom email address like john@johnsmith.com allowing your visitors an easy and memorable way to reach you. So even if you have no immediate use for yourname.com, it's wise to register a personal domain to ensure that you (and not some stranger) control your name online.